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Here we were, entrenched in our mother-daughter adventure through the small country of Ireland. On this particular day we were buzzing along a narrow, winding, and picturesque Irish road at 8:30 in the morning. The sun dazzled brightly in the blue sky, the weather was a hint warmer than the previous day, and our bodies sensed we were about to have a notable outing with each other. Today was Mother's day and we were driving towards one of our bucket list items. A place we had both longed to visit for several years. Little did we know we were about to treat ourselves to one of the best Mother’s Day experiences of our lives. And together. After parking our rental in a near-emtpy parking lot (visit in the off season, people!) and using the restrooms for a quick pit stop, we busted out in one of those "shopping mall lady" powerwalks to catch our first glimpse of the world famous, most outstanding coastal features in all of Ireland: The Cliffs of Moher!

My mother’s and my whirlwind (and very scenic) tour of Ireland seemed to be starting off on the right foot (okay, minus the couple “miscalculations” we had encountered while driving)! We were only 24 hours in and had already enjoyed each other’s company and the Emerald Isle immensely. But we were on the move in this next section. It is probably the chapter of our trip when I wish we could have slowed things down and had two extra days to explore everything you’re about to read and see. But heck if we were going to let time slow us down. We were determined to squeeze in every bit of scenery and Irish beer we could in ten days so buckle up as we travel through southern and southwestern Ireland, which includes the Dingle Peninsula...hence the title.

How many of you out there have a bucket list? I've personally kept a list since 2011 but admit I need to check in with myself to see how I'm doing. What about a bucket list with another person? I never had but realized that can be just as doable when one day out of the blue I flicked my mom a text. The question? "What's on your bucket list?" She replied with five places: New Zealand, Vietnam, Glacier National Park, Hawaii (one last time, but this time without her husband/my dad), and Ireland. If you know us at all, then you know that was the start of an elaborate plan...

Turkey has been on the top of my must-see list for quite a while. The idea began when I met a group of internationals while working at Six Flags in Chicago who were from Turkey. They told me a few tidbits of information on their fascinating country and I was hooked. Fast forward seven years later and there we sat on a ferry from Rhodes, Greece to Fethiye, Turkey. It's possible I will say this numerous times throughout the blog but Turkey is SO incredibly beautiful, I honestly didn’t realize it was going to affect me the way that it did. In addition to being extremely excited about the country itself, I was also overjoyed that Michael and Taylor were still traveling with us for the next 11 days! Some pieces of information on Turkey before reading forward: Turkey is surrounded by 8 different countries, is slightly larger than the state of Texas, and is a predominantly Muslim country. Now let's get to it!